INTERNET FUELS LEGAL ABUSE OF PLANT HALLUCINOGENS

Plant Hallucinogens Fill Niche Left By Lack Of Laws Against Them

Don Ausman began 2009 focused on a bright future.

The 22-year-old Michigan State University student from Northville
planned to head to New Orleans for spring break to help build homes
and serve residents. After earning his bachelor's degree in
interdisciplinary studies this spring, he hoped to travel to Japan to
teach English.

"He was fired up. ... He was in a great mood," said his stepfather,
Jim Wauldron. "He had so many plans."

Those plans were cut short. On Jan. 28, Ausman was found dead in his
East Lansing apartment. He had stabbed himself in the chest after
ingesting obscure Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds, according to an
autopsy. The seeds, bought on eBay, contain lysergic acid amide, a
compound that can cause psychosis, including hallucinations.

One study shows a correlation between Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds
and acute psychosis and suicidal thoughts for those who are
predisposed, said C. Dennis Simpson, director of the Specialty
Program in Alcohol and Drug Abuse at Western Michigan University.

"It's cheap and easily accessible. ... This is something you can grow
at home in mom's little window green house and then go and use it,"
he said, of such legal plants.

Ausman's death tragically underscores what officials say is the rise
in use of hallucinogenic legal substances that are widely available
online. Thanks to the proliferation of YouTube videos and Internet
blogs, learning the "how-to" of a quick hallucinogenic high from
substances like Hawaiian seeds and salvia and moonflowers -- plants
more likely to capture the attention of a gardener than a concerned
parent -- is easier than ever.

With the use of legal plants and seeds growing among high-schoolers
and early college students, according to a Western Michigan
University drug and alcohol abuse program, some lawmakers are taking action.

State Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, introduced a bill last year
to make using salvia divinorum a misdemeanor, and creating and
delivering the herb, sometimes known as "Diviner's Sage," a felony.

The bill died and Sak was term-limited, but it was reintroduced this
year by Rep. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, and now sits in committee.

"It's cheaper than marijuana (about $16 an ounce), thus becoming very
popular with college students and high school and middle school
students," according to analysis by the Michigan House Fiscal agency.
"Many find out about salvia by viewing some of the hundreds of videos
of people 'tripping' on salvia posted on the Internet site YouTube."

Sometimes known as "Sally D." or "magic mint," salvia divinorum can
be smoked, chewed or brewed into tea, has been used in indigenous
spiritual healing sessions and produces a quick "high" and an altered
state. Users can purchase salvia at smoke shops, tattoo parlors and
stores selling herbal products. But it's gained popularity for its
availability on the Web.

Sheltrown hadn't heard of the plants before, but Ausman's death and
concerns from a constituent prompted him to add Hawaiian Baby
Woodrose seeds to the legislation. He hopes a hearing will help
clarify the scope of the problem.

"Apparently this is a bit more widespread than I would have thought,"
Sheltrown said, noting he'd consider limiting the ban to just minors.
"There are a lot of drugs that are more dangerous and cause more
problems, but we can't ignore some of the less prevalent ones."

More than a dozen states already have passed laws to prohibit or
regulate the use of salvia, and lawmakers in several other states
have considered legislation to make salvia illegal. It's banned
altogether in Australia and several European countries.

According to a 2006 national survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration, about 1.8 million people
over age 12 had used salvia. Salvia has not been blamed for any
deaths, but authorities listed it as a factor in a Delaware teen's 2006 death.

To be sure, hallucinogenic substances aren't solely the province of
this generation. The effects of salvia divinorum and morning glory
seeds first were documented in research studies in 1930s and 1950s,
respectively.

Seif Osman, 20, of Farmington Hills, first heard of salvia last year
and has seen YouTube videos on how to use the plant.

"The majority of students probably wouldn't know what it was," the
University of Michigan-Dearborn student said. While he's never smoked
salvia himself, he says others have purchased it at smoke shops and
seek a one-hit high that's different than smoking marijuana.

Of course, banning salvia may not necessarily make it less accessible
to those who want to use it. Pot is illegal, but students have easy
access to it, he said.

Greg Somervill, who has owned Frivolity Kingdom in Jackson for nearly
20 years, says he's "not interested" in customers under 18 who have
little or no knowledge of plants' effects and are just looking for a
cheap high.

"I have books of thousands of psychoactive plants to buy and sell
legally, but I'm not interested in doing it (if) people don't respect
it, don't want to gain the knowledge of what they're doing," he said.

Ausman's death rattled Lansing-area health officials as they quickly
had to familiarize themselves with the legal plants and seeds. "If
you listen to folks on the Web, you would think it's very common, but
that's the first case I've heard about on campus," said Dennis
Martell, director of health education at MSU's Olin Health Center.

The legal loopholes provided by unregulated plants has frustrated police.

A Michigan State Police drug enforcement unit received a tip last
year about a Central Michigan University student selling marijuana.
But when police questioned the student, he said the dried leaves
weren't pot, but salvia he ordered online, police said. "Since it's
legal in Michigan right now, there's nothing we could do," said Lt.
Melvin Mathews, with the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team.